Choi, Woong Choi, Yongjun Choi, Eunsuh Yun, Hyewon Jung, Wonsang Lee, Woong Hee Oh, Hyung-Suk Won, Da Hye Na, Jonggeol Hwang, Yun Jeong 2024-01-19T12:03:01Z 2024-01-19T12:03:01Z 2022-04-29 2022-05 2050-7488 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/115236 A zero-gap membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer is a promising design for electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions (eCO(2)RRs), where gaseous CO2 is directly fed without catholyte. The zero-gap junction between the catalyst and the membrane can have distinct chemical environments and mass transfer properties from the conventional H-type cell but is rarely studied. In this work, we designed an integrated experimental-simulation study in MEA to understand the zero-gap junction and factors to determine the eCO(2)RR activity to multi-carbon production. We developed a simple synchronous ionomer/catalyst activation step under alkaline conditions to form jagged CuO nanoparticles whose unique morphological evolution facilitates the C2+ chemical production for the zero-gap MEA electrolyzer. Moreover, under gas-fed and high-current density conditions, computational fluid dynamics suggests that the mass transfer limitation of water as a proton source across the catalyst-membrane layer and cathode kinetic overpotential are critical to determining C2+ chemical production in the range of several micrometers. From the chemical-physical understanding, we achieved a high partial current density of 336.5 mA cm(-2) and a faradaic efficiency of 67.3% towards C2+ chemicals. English Royal Society of Chemistry Microenvironments of Cu catalysts in zero-gap membrane electrode assembly for efficient CO2 electrolysis to C2+ products Article 10.1039/d1ta10939a 1 Journal of Materials Chemistry A, v.10, no.19, pp.10363 - 10372 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 10 19 10363 10372 N scie scopus 000782472600001 Chemistry, Physical Energy & Fuels Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Chemistry Energy & Fuels Materials Science Article ELECTROREDUCTION REDUCTION COPPER OXIDE OXIDATION ETHYLENE SYSTEMS CARBON-DIOXIDE ELECTROCHEMICAL CONVERSION